MILAN – Jacopo Venturini, Gucci’s executive vice president, merchandising and markets, is leaving the firm, effective today, WWD has learned.
A Gucci spokesman confirmed his departure and Gucci president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri said Venturini’s role will now be split between in-house talents Matteo Giopp and Maurizio Pisanu. “There was no need to look outside,” said Bizzarri. Giopp is now chief merchandising officer, while Pisanu is global director licensing high-end accessories.
Venturini is a highly regarded and experienced industry veteran who joined Gucci in 2015 from Valentino and, before that, worked at Prada. According to market sources, Venturini may be returning to Prada. However, Prada denied the speculation.
Venturini was appointed to his latest role in March 2018 by Gucci’s president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri as part of a new organizational structure, based on four areas: merchandising and global markets, led by Venturini; indirect channels, outlet and travel retail, headed by Piero Braga; brand and customer engagement, under the responsibility of Robert Triefus, and digital business and innovation, led by Nicolas Oudinot.
“Over the last three years, we have been seeking to break the historical rules of the fashion industry, building our success on well-defined values and a corporate culture focused on people, creativity and innovation, empowering our teams at every level and encouraging them to challenge the status quo,” Bizzarri told WWD at that time.
“We are certainly pleased with the results achieved so far, but I believe it’s now time to evolve toward an even more agile structure, sustained by a corporate culture that permits us to anticipate market needs and matches the desires of our clients, while accelerating the decision-making process at every level of the organization,” he added.